Two leading organisations in ocean-energy research have signed an agreement to work together to measure and understand the impact of turbulence on wave- and tidal-energy devices. FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility at Edinburgh University and Canadian-based Rockland Scientific will work together to develop tank-scale turbulence measurement technology that will be used on both sides of the Atlantic.

The two firms, which completed a first round of technology testing in 2014, announced the collaboration agreement at the FloWave HQ during an ocean-energy trade mission from Nova Scotia organised by Scottish Development International (the international arm of Scottish Enterprise) and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy.

FloWave chief executive Officer Stuart Brown said: “Accurately measuring and understanding turbulence — particularly its impact on structures and performance — is a vital part of designing and deploying any wave or tidal technology. To date, the techniques for measuring turbulence in the laboratory have been very different to those adopted at sea, making like-for-like comparisons from one environment to the other difficult.

“At FloWave, we have already completed valuable turbulence characterisation work with Rockland Scientific — specifically, bringing their ocean-going instrument into the laboratory at FloWave back in 2014. This new agreement allows the partners to build on that pioneering work to deliver transferable turbulence measurement solutions that enable all parties to dramatically improve their understanding of turbulence in fast tidal currents.”

John McGinnes from SDI said: “Scotland and Canada are both making tremendous strides towards the commercialisation of tidal-energy technologies, and this is helping to bring both sides of the Atlantic together to address sectoral challenges and drive the industry forward. We look forward to more collaborations between Canadian and Scottish companies in the future.”